![]() ![]() Other particles are focused by powerful magnetic fields arising from the disk into twin jets of high-speed particles and energy that can extend for millions of parsecs above and below the accretion disk. As it all literally goes down the drain into the black hole, copious amounts energy are released across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, making quasars the brightest objects in the universe. Stars, dust and gas caught in the black hole's gravitational grasp swirl into an accretion disk where they're heated to millions of degrees by friction and the release of gravitational potential energy. ![]() A quasar or quasi-stellar object (QSO) is an exceptionally luminous and active galactic nucleus powered by a black hole billions of times more massive than the Sun. This week we'll visit 12 of the season's brightest quasars. Beams of particles and radiation focused by the disk's powerful magnetic field blast away from the quasar at near-light speeds. This artist’s impression of a quasar shows the spinning accretion disk where matter is heated as falls into the black hole (center). Many are visible in amateur scopes if you know just where to look. Quasars are among the brightest and most distant objects in the universe. ![]()
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